Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1492834
COMING UP ROSES A BOARD MEMBER FINDS HIS PASSION BUILDING FLOATS FOR A LEGENDARY PARADE Front row: The author, Hudson Miller, Patricia Kennedy. Back row: Glenn T. Morgan, Jennifer Morgan, Molly Shock, Denise Heim, Alan Heim, and Paula Shanfield. P H OT O : C O U R T E S Y E R I K C . A N D E R S E N SEE PAGE 56 By Erik C. Andersen, ACE S ometimes you need to get out of the cutting room and smell the roses. One of the best parades in the world is the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Pa- rade every Jan. 1. What makes this parade so special is the flower-decorated floats. These ephemeral, one-of-a-kind pieces of art captured my imagination as a kid. If you live in Los Angeles, you can see the parade in person. I saw my first live parade in 1976 and it was cold but very magical. A few years later my grandmother, Dorothy, saw an ad in the newspaper that read, "Volunteers needed to help decorate the Burbank float." My parents took my sisters and me down to the Burbank float barn to decorate and I instantly got hooked. Since then I have designed five floats for the parade, and I am currently serving on the Burbank Tournament of Roses Assn. board as historian. This year will mark the 40th float I have helped decorate for the City of Burbank. When I started decorating the Burbank float, mainly mums and roses were used. Today, hundreds of different materials are used to decorate the float. For instance, I was the decoration chair on the 2020 rose float, "Rise Up," where I was responsible for determining the flower types and colors, the quantity necessary and for placing the orders with adequate time for the venders to grow and deliver them in time for deco week. I love discovering different types of ma- terials to decorate the float. For the phoenix head, I needed a material that would sim- ulate bird feathers. I collected dried palm fronds from my yard and magnolia leaves from outside of my cutting room. Now I could have used them in their natural state, but I needed color. I decided to cover them with paprika and yellow strawflower. I call this technique deco on deco. Some of the best floats I've decorated are the ones I've designed. It's similar to editing in that you begin with a script and it ends up being a movie — of course with a little editing in between. With a float, you come up with an idea, draw it on paper, help build and then decorate it. It's such a thrill watching talented volunteers come togeth- er to bring a vision to life. This year's float was called "Adventure Awaits." I was the decorating supervisor of the hang glider. Suspended at the top of the float, 20 feet off the ground, it was going to be a challenge. Luckily the glider was removed off the float to be decorated. The flowers and seeds are placed on the float the last week of the year (Dec. 26-31). Deco week requires hundreds of volunteers to make the float come to life. I've had so much fun doing this, I thought it would be cool to invite my fellow Guild members to 17 S P R I N G Q 1 I S S U E A R O U N D T H E G U I L D Erik C. Andersen. P H OT O : T E R R A N C E C U R R A N